[SLI-public] SLI Newsletter May 2022

[sliadmin at suffolknet.org]

 <https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/media/document/191> 

 

The May 2022 Newsletter
<https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/media/document/191>  is now
available by clicking the image above, downloading the pdf attachment, or
reading the full text below.

 

Sustainable Libraries Initiative Newsletter
<https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/media/document/191> 

May 2022 <https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/media/document/191> 

 



 

Congratulations, Paula Michalak!

 

This month we are celebrating our newest Sustainable Library Certification
recipient, Paula Michalak. Paula is the district librarian for the Silver
Creek Central School District <https://www.silvercreekschools.org/>  in
Silver Creek, New York. This role gives her a unique perspective and the
ability to work with students longitudinally from K-12th grade. Through this
role, she has built partnerships throughout the grade levels in the school
district. She represents school libraries on the Erie
2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES School Library System Committee and is a
member of the Building Leadership Team at Silver Creek Central School
District.  

 

Paula has been able to use these partnerships as opportunities to promote
the value of her school libraries and find new avenues for collaboration in
the school and the community. Her involvement across all grade levels in her
district has given her a broad view of how different research skills could
be introduced and reinforced through projects in different grade levels.
Through collaborations with other educators in the buildings, Paula has been
able to identify connections between research skills being taught at
different grade levels and build a more coherent framework to teach these to
the students. These connections foster collaboration with the teachers and
allow Paula to build on the understanding that they have been gaining by
seeing this material presented consistently, in grade-level appropriate
ways, over many years of instruction. Consistency, familiarity, and building
fluency in research techniques give every student a sound foundation for
these skills. Students gain validation of the importance of research skills
and have a consistent approach that buoys them for continued success. Paula
states, "the use of aligned vocabulary between the classroom and the library
helps students grow a deeper understanding of content.  Students also begin
to understand that learning isn't insular, that it branches out into the
world and expands upon itself with great understanding as they move through
their academic careers."



Caption: Danaceus Maybee took part in the Silver Creek CSD internship
program working at Northern Chautauqua Federal Credit Union. This program
was organized by district librarian, Paula Michalak

Another program highlighted in the work for Paula's Sustainable Library
Certification was the development of an internship program for high school
students to gain experience and a better understanding of local career
opportunities. Students participated in many fields such as nursing,
banking, and operating small businesses. This program fostered connections
between her students and their community and continued to raise awareness in
and out of the school about the importance of school librarians in the lives
of the students. These connections helped students gain experience and
valuable references for college and career development. She is currently
pursuing a way for the students to receive credits towards graduation for
participation in this program. This garnered coverage in local newspapers
<https://www.observertoday.com/news/local-region/2019/12/schs-student-intern
ship-program-takes-root/>  and her school newsletter
<https://www.silvercreekschools.org/article/541139> . This program helped
students to get to know the opportunities that exist in their community and
showed how the school librarian can foster these connections.  



Becoming certified will have a lasting impact on Paula, her school, and her
community. "This process helped me have more dialog with myself, my peers,
and my district in order to continue conversations around programming,
collection, collaboration, and vertical/horizontal academic alignment."
Through her advocacy and committee work, she has advocated for the library
to be a visible partner in many school activities. By continuing this work
in to the community by bridging students with internship opportunities, she
is broadening the perception and reach of school librarians beyond the
school buildings and out into the community.

 

Thank you to our guest contributor, Comsewogue Library Director, Debbie
Englehart for sharing details about her library's participation in 'No Mow
May." She plans to continue documenting the un-mowed parts of the lawn to
identify native plants and wildflower, stay tuned to our social media for
updates!

 

"No Mow May", You Say?

Contributed by Debbie Engelhardt, Director, Comsewogue Public Library
<https://www.cplib.org/> 

The No Mow May <https://beecityusa.org/no-mow-may/>  movement started in the
UK and has since gained popularity in the U.S. The idea behind it is that
bees need spring food after the long winter, and lawn flowers can support a
wide variety of bees and their pollinators, whereas short lawns generally
provide little food for bees.

Comsewogue Public Library <https://www.cplib.org/>  in eastern Long Island
is dedicating approximately 900 square feet of its spring lawn to No Mow May
for the first time this year. We're curious to see which native wildflowers
will thrive in this section throughout the month of May, and which insects
we'll observe feeding. We'll watch, too, to see if more bird species are
attracted to the area.

The Library will post free signs made available through the Xerces Society
to alert the public as to what's happening:
https://xerces.org/publications/other/no-mow-may. When it is finally time to
mow, we'll likely reduce the height of the "shaggy" section in phases and
over a few sessions. It's not anticipated that the lawn will be damaged in
any way.

Anyone considering No Mow May can embrace it in smaller, more "palatable"
ways, perhaps by designating an "island" on their lawn to be left un-mowed,
or by leaving a mowed buffer between theirs and a neighboring lawn. How much
of a lawn is needed, in general, is a question we'll continue to ask
ourselves at the Library. We hope to encourage others to ask themselves the
same question and give No Mow May a try at home.

 <https://beecityusa.org/no-mow-may/> 

https://beecityusa.org/no-mow-may/

Upcoming Events

School Librarian Drop-in Work Session
<https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/event/school-librarian-drop-work
-session-6> ,
<https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/event/online-meet-22-slcp-partic
ipants> Wednesday, May 4th, 3:00 pm EST
<https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/event/online-meet-22-slcp-partic
ipants> 

SLCP Member Meetup
<https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/event/online-meet-22-slcp-partic
ipants> ,
<https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/events/online-meet-19-slcp-parti
cipants>  Thursday, May 5th, 11 am EST
<https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/events/online-meet-19-slcp-parti
cipants>
<https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/events/online-meet-19-slcp-parti
cipants> 

 

Member News

This month we welcome two new libraries to the Sustainable Library
Certification Program. Plainedge Public Library
<https://plainedgeinfo.org/new/>  has joined from North Massapequa, NY and
Curtis Memorial Library <https://curtislibrary.com/>  located in Brunswick,
Maine. Plainedge are our first library from Nassau County, NY and Curtis
Memorial is our first SLCP enrollment from Maine. We look forward to many
more firsts from other states as our national rollout continues. We also
welcome two libraries who have joined the Sustainable Libraries Initiative
as members. Las Vegas  <https://lvccld.org/> - Clark County Library District
in Las Vegas, Nevada and Valley Cottage Library
<https://www.valleycottagelibrary.org/>  in Valley Cottage, NY.

 <https://plainedgeinfo.org/new/>   <https://curtislibrary.com/>
<https://lvccld.org/>   <https://www.valleycottagelibrary.org/>  

 

 


 <https://sustainablelibrariesinitiative.org/> 

 

 

Annemarie Gordon

Sustainability Coordinator

Suffolk Cooperative Library System
<https://portal.suffolklibrarysystem.org/> 

sliadmin at suffolknet.org

631-286-1600 x1355

 

 

 

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